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PUPY vs Practical Value

Anonymous

More PUPY thoughts!

I mentioned on Kaelyn's thread that bags would, theoretically have a PUPY value of 365. They can be used daily and are not seasonal. AND- they don't require washing between wears.

So...new idea...Practical Value

With PUPY, the thing could be worn any time that is the right season or occasion.
It does not take into account frequency of washing.
For example, I wash tops after each wear, and generally do laundry weekly. That top could have a 180 PUPY value. There are technically 180 days of the year it could be worn. The Practical Value though would be 180 ÷7 (days between wash) so just under 26 for the year. That's assuming a wardrobe of 7 tops in that timeframe. Twice the tops, half the Practical Value. Two wears between wash, double the Practical Value.

This could be helpful to see how long it would really take to hit the 30 wears benchmark. Also prioritizing, budgeting, etc...

Full admission that it could be a way to justify bags, shoes, and other accessories to DH

General

28 replies

Latest reply was from CarolS

rachylou

Veteran

Oh, yes, I believe in the laundry factor… although my calculations more involve stocking up to get me through 30 days with no laundry. Lol. I prefer to do laundry in one huge go. Lol. And I sort like mad and only do full loads

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Aha same here - laundry is only a fortnightly affair for me! That probably explains why I like to duplicate clothing (to avoid laundry bottlenecks)...

Anonymous

I don't have enough clothes to go a month, which is kinda deliberate so I have to keep on top of the washing. Dishes are the same, we just have a few out so they can't back up in the sink.

Happy to say the washing is no longer a chore I got a new to us washing machine that is simple and does what it's told!! The fussy computerized one (aka "scrap metal") is going to a new home- buh bye!!

Bijou

Veteran

Suntiger - the longevity factor of bags, jackets and coats is one reason why I prefer to spend more on these items than others that wear out far more quickly. Knits are one area that never seem to go the distance for me - being tricky to launder, pill and get misshapen. Your PUPY and PV tests are very insightful.

Tanya

Veteran

Interesting concepts.

I also tend to do laundry at longer intervals, for several reasons, main ones being that I am a little OCD about sorting into loads bases on several factors, and it takes a while to accumulate enough to have full loads. I have a large wardrobe so this rarely causes issues.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

We have 2 plates, bowls, and sets of eating utensils, for exactly the reason you suggest. They still pile up, so I’m not buying any more.

I think I’ve always understood “potential uses” to mean the number of times a thing could actually be used. Must’ve misunderstood you.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

I do these calculations, too, especially to determine if 30 wears will be realistic. If, given the practicalities of laundry, seasonality, and competition from similar items, it's going to take me 10 years to get to 30 wears on something new, that's probably not a good purchase for me.

CarolS

Veteran

This whole concept blows me away. I certainly consider -- will I wear it -- to work, for casual, for dressy -- but a count? Never even crosses my mind. Some pieces have been worn possibly hundreds of times. Others almost none -- or none -- for various reasons.

Maybe I'll try to apply some of this kind of thinking to the items in my current K/R list and see what effect that has!

Runcarla

Veteran

I do A LOT of laundry! I used to create a lot of post gym workout laundry, but these days I create post swim laundry 3/week and DH creates post golf laundry 3/week. So - swim suit/golf clothes + towels. So, I go through the house and collect kitchen towels, apron, and regular clothes from the hamper. It’s enough for a load of light colours and dark colours every other day - or about 6 loads a week. As such, I could re-wear something I wore earlier in the week and got dirty - later in the week.

High practical value (if I understand correctly) would be things like the swim suits (2) or my shorts in summer (2) that I actually need to have in a high rotation.

Where things get held up are ironing! DH does all the ironing every 2 weeks. So, I better be able to get a couple of wears in before laundering and ironing is required!

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Interesting, it would be more a thought of how long the item lasts (leather longer than knits) rather than projected uses for me. But resale value is probably the biggest factor when I pick things up that I am not 100% sure about.

Sloper

Veteran

I don't incorporate a "laundry" factor when considering how many uses I'll get from an item - though I do consider if the item is machine washable or fragile or must be dry cleaned or ironed. For example, due to hot flashes and just general heat intolerance, I can sweat a lot, so it doesn't make sense for me to buy fancy summer tops that need special care after every wear.

Both PUPY and Practical Value are good common-sense considerations. But I'm with Carol S too - I have items that don't get much use, but they still are treasured in my wardrobe.

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I think this is an excellent addition to your thinking especially/even when money is tight. Jenn’s tongue-in-cheek example of taking 10 years to get to 30 wears has happened to me! Since I have been tracking wears for over 5 years now, which is half that time, for the older items I guessed the pre-2016 wears.
I knew there were several items I still wanted to keep that had not reached that number. Dresses and skirts mainly.
I hope that I will not buy things now that would be that slow.

Anonymous

Thanks for the thoughts all!

I definitely have things that will take 10 years to hit 30 wears. Special occasion wear: I try to buy things that I could wear to work too, so technically high PUPY, but rarely actually do. They're fitted dresses, so very size dependent, and my weight changes Very easily. Plus they're flamboyant, and I just don't want the attention.

Jeans: low PUPY, cause not for work except Fridays, but I rarely reach for them in favor of comfy joggers or ponte pants on weekends. Why did I go and buy 2 this year?? Facepalm! Plus, again, very size dependent.

These are categories that for me need to stay classic, because they are going to linger unworn for a long time. And really should be size flexible, so they're not out of commission when I need them. No more sheath dresses ST!!!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

CarolS, are you familiar with the 30 wears thing at all? Some people say that's the minimum number of times you should wear an item before passing it on and buying something new. It seems low to me, and like a lot of buying, but I keep things literally for decades and wouldn't expect to wear them all equally across all the years. Figuring potential uses for a new item, I consider whether I have anything comparable at home, perhaps in storage, (generally an automatic "no" for the piece under consideration) and how it would fit in with the current rotation, not how many total pieces I have in the category. "30 wearers" generally edit things out as they pass that mark, so they don't have much in storage (generally, not always).

ST, I hear you on the jeans--I don't wear them often either--but go easy on yourself about special occasion things, because that's the definition of the category--for times that are special, not common, everyday occurrences. Idk if all mine will ever hit 30 wears. I used to go to more concerts & the like, have stopped buying in this category until that's a bigger part of my life again and I get sick of the fancy stuff I already have (might take a while, because I am so looking forward to those things, but probably not months of Sundays).

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You lost me again with PUPY

Need a refresher....

Anonymous

Potential uses per year. How many days you could wear something based on climate and activities.

I have approximately half the year of warm (over 70) weather, a couple weeks on either side of transitional, then cold.
I work 5-6 days a week, biz cas.

So highest PUPY would be warm-hot weather work wear in my case. Lowest would be transitional casual, just a couple days a year.
You have a much colder climate so your numbers are much different!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Actually I would have to disagree with SF that “30 wearers” would edit out after that. I don’t. I really want to wear the things more than that and have large numbers of items above 50 or above 100 wears. It’s more that I give myself more “permission”, if you like, to edit above that number if I have felt by then that it’s hard to get the wears, or I don’t like something about it so much- the perfect example was my Not Your Daughter’s Jeans which looked nice and officially fit but weren’t that comfortable due to digging in around my middle. They went once #30 was hit.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

JenniNZ, that’s why I included that parenthetical remark.

Jenn

(website)

Veteran

Agreeing with what Jenni said. I think the "generally" goes in the other direction. I can't think of anyone who speaks/writes about 30 wears who advocates culling on a specific timeline.

Sal

Veteran

I do consider this broadly but not specifically.

The things I know will easily get worn a lot (over 20 a year) I give myself permission to spend more on or replace quickly. And for me this is jeans, essential tops, everyday footwear, gear, bags and sunglasses.

However for denim and essential tops I prefer to not have too many and just wear and wear them (and wash them too) and replace more often than budget in replacing every 5 years, it might be 2-3 years. For me this means I can update them as they wear out, and when I might want a refresh. If I have too many and they last longer, I am more likely to get wardrobe fatigue.

Athletic gear is my main laundry bottleneck - so I have more of this comparatively.

Dressier pieces (for work or for play) have to last a bit longer so I tend to go a bit more timeless in design.

CarolS

Veteran

SF -- I suppose I hadn't thought of 30 wears as an end date, but rather as a goal or marker of sorts to indicate usability. Wasn't 30 the magic number in the movie Logan's Run?! LOL. That's when you get pitched.

Anyway, I'm nowhere near analytical enough to actually count wears, but I do think I can learn from these concepts and apply in my own way!

Sloper

Veteran

CarolS - Yes! Logan's Run: "Carousel has begun..."

CarolS

Veteran

YES!!!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

I just looked up again about #30 wears. It’s supposed to be something you think about *before* you buy something new. To encourage less buying, especially of fast, cheap stuff that might be worn something like 7 times ( from research I have read). I have personally chosen to try to wear what I already own that many times as well. Some of the way older stuff I had to give up as a bad job. If I had a top from 2010 and I had hardly worn it by now, the conclusion is usually that I don’t like it much! I am also having a problem with some things now being too big for me, but luckily most have already been worn plenty.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Oh no, I’m sorry if I stepped on any toes! I really don’t want to argue about prescriptive vs descriptive or theory gs practice. I put the “should” at number of wears, not at passing on, but it’s obviously a touchy subject. Lets not derail the conversation here.
CarolS, if you’ve learned about 30 wears elsewhere, you probably know more about it than I do.

Anonymous

Agreeing that it's unlikely that people automatically would toss at 30 wears! If people are counting wears or purchasing based on hopeful longevity, I'd think they'd want as much use as possible out of the item.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

ST, no one said anyone would automatically throw things out. That’s a scarecrow people set up here to shadowbox at.

CarolS

Veteran

SF, my knowledge of 30 wears is just from what I've read on the forum. Zero expertise!